Flight rescheduled but check-in ‘denied’, Delhi man wins Rs 68,000 payout from airline

“The opposite party (airline) has been deficient by denying check-in without justification to the complainant who was travelling to join a new assignment at the start of his career, after rescheduling the flight, and this conduct of the opposite party has caused mental agony, inconvenience and harassment to the complainant, for which the OP is also liable to compensate him,” the August 31 order read.

Flight delayed, passenger denied boarding

The man booked a flight with the airline to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru on February 3, 2019. The departure time was revised from 1 pm to 4 pm on the day of departure, and the man received an email from the airline stating that the flight was delayed due to operational reasons.

According to the man, he reached the airport as per the revised timing, but was denied boarding on the ground that he had not arrived on time and all the passengers had already “checked in”. However, he claimed that he had reached within the required check-in time.

He was then forced to take another flight at a higher fare of Rs 12,713 and also incurred Rs 334 in hotel charges. He approached the airline, which allegedly acknowledged the inconvenience but refused to refund the amount.

Aggrieved, he moved the commission seeking refund of the flight fare and hotel charges, Rs 1.5 lakh compensation and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs.

Airline’s defence

The airline argued that the complainant, on account of his own negligence, failed to adhere to the check-in timeline. It was added that the man filed the complaint with bad motive and he had admitted that he was fully aware of the check-in and boarding timelines.

Despite the same, the airline submitted that the complainant, solely on account of his own default and negligence, failed to failed to reach its check-in counter within the mandated check-in timelines. It further claimed that it had offered an alternative flight, subject to applicable re-accommodation charges, but the complainant refused the offer for reasons best known to him.

‘Airline’s duty higher after rescheduling flight’

The commission found that the flight timings were revised and held that when an airline itself reschedules a flight, it has a higher duty to accommodate passengers who arrive according to the revised timing. Noting that the airline had not indicated the time of “check-in” with the list of passengers, the commission emphasised that if the check-in for that particular flight was actually closed, it could have easily produced CCTV footage or system logs, which it failed to do.

“The act of denying check-in without justification, after rescheduling the flight, and then failing to produce relevant records amounts to gross deficiency in service, negligence and unfair trade practice under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act,” it added.

The commission directed the airline to refund Rs 12,713 towards the replacement flight and Rs 334 towards hotel charges, along with Rs 50,000 compensation for mental agony, inconvenience and harassment and Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs.

Takeaway

The ruling highlights that when an airline changes a flight’s departure time, it must take reasonable steps to accommodate passengers who arrive according to the revised schedule.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and Union territories (Delhi: 1800-11-4000) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

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